It doesn't really work with either metaphor. Somebody building the Golden Gate bridge or skyscraper knows that they're building it and has a clear picture of wh

It doesn't really work with either metaphor. Somebody building the Golden Gate bridge or skyscraper knows that they're building it and has a clear picture of what it will look like once it's finished. Software is more like a settlement. It may start out looking like a village and end of life looking like a village or it may catch a wave and end up looking like a megalopolis - perhaps a clean, well organized one like Singapore or a disastrously organized one with chronic traffic, corruption and crime like Lagos. A lot of people out there think that they need to make space for a subway in their village coz it's Definitely Coming One Day while others don't have time to build a subway even while they suffer 7 hour long traffic jams.